H.S. GIRLS SOCCER: Hingham aiming even higher this time

After moving up a division, the Harborwomen are hoping for the same old outcome – a state crown.

Adam Nazzaro, The Patriot Ledger

Winning one state championship is tough enough. When you talk about going for your fourth in a row, the word dynasty comes to mind.

This year’s quest comes with a twist, though.

The Hingham High girls soccer team has won the past three Division 2 state crowns, but the Harborwomen have moved up to Div. 1 this fall.

“It’s been a tough year, there’s been a lot of gaps to fill, considering the amount of seniors we lost last year,” coach Ryan Puntiri said. “The girls have had to mature quickly, a lot of learning as they go.”

All-American Eve Hewins (38 goals, 16 assists, 54 points) was the biggest graduation loss, but Hingham still fashioned a 16-1-1 regular-season record, good enough to earn a No. 3 seed in the Div. 1 South playoffs.

Hingham opens the postseason on Sunday at 6 p.m., hosting either No. 14 Franklin (9-7-2) or No. 19 Brockton (3-12-3). Those teams play a preliminary round game on Friday.

“We’ve come together pretty well,” Puntiri said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best soccer yet, we’ve made plenty of mistakes out there, but the girls have definitely gone out there and created an identity for themselves.”

The Harborwomen are currently on a 15-game point streak (14-0-1), and in that time are dominating teams on both sides of the ball, outscoring opponents 60-8 in those contests.

“I like where we are at heading into tournament play (but) it’s a whole new season,” Puntiri said. “It’s going to be a lot tougher being in Division 1 this year. We’ve been preparing for it all season. We’ll work on some things this week and see if we can sharpen up a little bit.”

Patriot League Keenan Division rival Whitman-Hanson, which won the Div. 1 South crown last fall, is one of those teams awaiting Hingham’s arrival. The two powerhouses split their regular-season meetings, with each game finishing 3-1.

Whitman-Hanson (15-1-2) is seeded sixth. The two will meet in Tuesday’s quarterfinals if they each win their opener.

“We’ve had a couple of great games against Whitman-Hanson to get us prepared for this stage,” Puntiri said. “We need to keep the mindset we had in those games because this is what we worked on all season.”

“(Maguire) and (Harkins) have been great for us all year,” Puntiri said. “Marykate Stack (Hingham’s first-year goalkeeper) has stepped in net and played very well all season. It’s not an easy thing to do to take on that role, but she has really done a great job.”

Here’s a look at the rest of the Ledgerland teams in the girls soccer playoffs:

DIV. 1 SOUTH

Whitman-Hanson also kicks off its playoff run on Sunday, hosting No. 11 Weymouth (10-4-4) at 7 p.m.

That’s a rematch of the regular-season finale. The two teams coincidentally were in the same scenario last season entering the tournament.

“It sets up as the same as last year; it’s not unfamiliar territory,” W-H coach David Floeck said. “It presents a few different challenges. You have to make a few different adjustments, but there’s comfort and familiarity there – you know what you’re getting into going into (the tournament).”

The Panthers are led by UMass-bound senior Lauren Bonavita, the program’s all-time leading scorer.

“(The defensive attention) is something she’s pretty familiar with,” Floeck said. “Teams have been (keying on her) for the majority of the season, so we’ve really been working on getting other players involved.”

No. 4 Silver Lake (13-4-1) leads a six-team local contingent here. The Lakers could match up with No. 5 Notre Dame Academy (12-4-2) in the Nov. 8 quarterfinals, if both can clear first-round hurdles on Monday at 6 p.m.

No. 1 Archbishop Williams (15-1-2) vs. No. 3 Norwell (13-2-3) would be an intriguing sectional final, although plenty of teams, including four other locals, will have a say in that.

Norwell, which lost in the South final last season, plays at home Friday against No. 14 Fairhaven (6-9-1) at 3:30 p.m. Williams kicks off its playoff run on Saturday, hosting No. 16 Case (5-9-2) at 3 p.m.

Norwell coach Kara Connerty pointed out that her team is getting healthy at the right time. The Clippers also boast more scoring pop than they did last year.

“We’re more offensive-minded,” she noted. “We’re able to find the net a little more.”